Commonly Asked Questions

Early voting begins September 18, 2026 and lasts until Election Day, November 3, 2026.

Don’t be deceived by the confusing and inaccurate wording of the ballot question. The exact ballot language for the “Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment” is as follows:  

“Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?”  

Virginia lawmakers have framed the ballot language as a general question about women’s healthcare and medical decision-making.  

This is blatantly misleading.   

In truth, the amendment expands abortion up to the moment of birth, endangers women’s health and safety, and pushes parents out of life-changing and irreversible decisions for their minor daughters and creates strife in families. 

If passed, this dangerously vague amendment would remove critical safeguards for women’s reproductive health and safety and embed extreme policies into the Virginia state Constitution. It would create unregulated abortions at any time, even up until birth, by unlicensed abortion providers, threatening the health of mothers and even healthy babies. It lets the government take away the involvement of parents in their right to be included in healthcare decisions with their children, creating family division and conflict.  

Abortion access is in no danger in Virginia where the Code of Virginia already allows abortion up to birth but also allows for safety and licensing regulations. Voting “no” on this amendment changes nothing in the status quo. Each ‘no” vote is a vote to uphold women’s health and safety, respect parental rights, and safeguard against unregulated abortion even for healthy babies up to birth for any reason with no limits.  

The exact ballot language for the “Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment” is biased, misleading and as follows:  

“Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”  

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unjustly in its Obergefell decision and enshrined a false conception of marriage and family into American life. This Supreme Court decision rejected the truth that marriage and family are natural goods, instead creating a fundamental right to marry based on autonomy that is now leading to a growing commercial surrogacy industry, where couples are now able to effectively purchase human beings, violate the natural rights of children, and exploit vulnerable mothers.   

Virginia lawmakers are proposing to enshrine this same false legal definition of marriage into our Commonwealth’s constitution, as a way to perpetuate these injustices in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision is eventually overturned.   

The ballot language also falsely separates the reality of one’s sex and gender as distinct categories. Our human nature is grounded in the truth that we are either male or female, not in changing concepts of identity. 

Voting “no” on this amendment is a vote recognizing the truth of marriage as a natural institution between one man and one woman.  

As Catholics, we vote “no” on these proposed amendments because they involve intrinsic questions of right and wrong.  

Many issues political life require prudential judgments, and Catholics may in good faith disagree about the best policies or approaches. However, certain fundamental matters, including the protection of human life and the nature of marriage, call for a consistent and universal response rooted in Catholic teaching and our responsibility to protect and preserve the gifts our loving Father gives to us. 

Many evils and unintended negative consequences will flow from enacting these ballot initiatives. Moreover, if written into Virginia’s Constitution, it would be extraordinarily difficult to later reverse these unjust amendments. Virginia would effectively become a sanctuary for abortion and commercial abortion businesses. Basic health and safety standards that ensure women’s health would be eliminated, parents would be pushed out of life-altering decisions involving their minor children, and unregulated abortions would be possible on healthy babies up to the moment of birth for any reason with no limits. 

At the same time, Virginia’s constitution would open the door to dangerous laws that put girls’ sports and women’s safe spaces in jeopardy. It would mislead future generations concerning the truth about marriage by adopting a false legal definition of marriage that would further erode a public sense of marriage and a natural institution binding one man and one woman. Additionally, the amendment would further protect a growing commercial surrogacy industry which violates the natural rights of children and exploits vulnerable mothers. 

Pledge to vote this fall by completing the form on this landing page. Consider contacting your parish to find out ways you can assist your pastor in spreading the word in your local community! 

Click here for steps on organizing a voter registration drive at your parish as developed by the Virginia Catholic Conference. 

Click here to check your registration status or register to vote through the Virginia Department of Elections. 

Apply for ballot to be mailed to you by October 23, 2026.  

Register to vote or update your voter registration by October 23, 2026 

Early in-person voting begins September 18 and runs through October 31.